


A Pony of My Own (Epilogue)

by melannen



Category: The Chronicles of Chrestomanci - Diana Wynne Jones
Genre: Gen, Nonfiction, ponies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2015-07-13
Packaged: 2018-04-09 02:00:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4329507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melannen/pseuds/melannen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So You Want To Own A Pony</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Pony of My Own (Epilogue)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [makiyakinabe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/makiyakinabe/gifts).



Now that you have read the story about how Ruth and Lucy came to own their ponies, perhaps you want a pony of your own!

There are many different kinds of ponies you could have: perhaps you would like a Welsh pony, with all the elegance and grace of its Arabian Horse ancestors, or a Shetland pony that is small enough to follow you around like a puppy. Maybe you would like an Inca pony, born from spotted ancestors who have lived in the Empire of the Americas for centuries. Ponies come in many colors, too: most breeds of pony can be chestnut or black or gray, dun or roan, palomino or skewbald, pinto or appaloosa.

Whatever pony you decide to get, though, you must remember that a pony is not a toy, but a living creature just like you. Just like Ruth’s and Lucy’s Blackie and Dapple, every pony will have its own personality, its own likes and dislikes and ways of showing how it feels. A well-trained, well-taken care of pony can become a good friend and a partner, but a pony who is not properly taken care of will be unhappy, and will make you unhappy too. If you can't afford all the things a pony needs, or don't have time to take care of it properly, you should wait to get a pony until you can.

A happy pony needs a lot of space to roam in, and a secure stable stall at night, and daily exercise. It will also need plenty of water to drink and good food to eat - grass, hay, oats, and other things as well. And a pony will need an owner with the love and patience to train it well, so that it knows what is expected of it, and can have the satisfaction of doing its work well. When you get a pony, you should find someone who has kept and trained ponies before, who can teach you what you need to do to keep it happy and healthy.

As the owner of a pony, you will also be responsible for keeping its stall clean. This can be hard work, but you will feel a lot of satisfaction when you know you have made your own pony’s home as neat and tidy as it can be. You will learn quickly how to use the tools you need to do this, and if you are a witch, like Lucy in the story, perhaps you can learn spells to help you. Whether you use spells or just good old muscle, though, it's still a difficult and important job.

You will also need to groom your pony regularly, to keep its coat neat and clean. If you use magic to clean its stall, you might be tempted to use your magic to take care of this chore, but it is important to do your grooming by hand. Many of the best ponies have at least a little bit of unicorn in them, and this means that they can sense magic, and won’t like spells being used so close to them. Also, the process of grooming your pony is an important way for the two of you to get used to each other and get comfortable with each other. When you run a curry-comb over every inch of its coat, you will learn how your pony feels under your hands, and your pony will learn that the way you touch it is gentle and feels good. Using magic as a shortcut for this will never work as well.

Magic-users should also know never to use a spell to make a pony do what they want to do. You wouldn’t like it if someone used a spell on you to make you do something, would you? Neither does a pony. While some people think that using compulsion spells on animals is okay, and it is not legally counted as misuse of magic, a pony that you have bespelled to obey will never again be willing to obey you out of its own will, and spells like that can easily do permanent harm to a pony, or force it to injure itself. If you are interested in helping to change the laws so that spells of compulsion against domestic animals are no longer legal, you can contact one of the organizations for ethical use of magic with animals whose addresses are listed on the last page of this book.

If you keep your pony happy and well fed, train it well, and teach it that you are its friend, you will have many hours of happy riding and companionship with your new pony, and many adventures too, just like Ruth and Lucy's! You can walk around a show ring together, demonstrating your ability to work together, or you can go wandering down a trail with your pony's back warm and reliable beneath you, or gallop across a field with your pony's mane and tail and your hail streaming together in the wind!

There are many magical creatures that are similar to ponies. You are probably familiar with unicorns and their magical horns, pegasi and their wings, and hippocampi that live with the mermaids, but there are many more. Most of them are very rare in our world, but once in awhile they visit from other worlds. Some ponies may be distant relations of one of these magical creatures. In fact, some breeds are all related to a magical creature that visited, such as the Assateague Water Ponies that trace their heritage back to Spanish mustangs and Sargasso sea-horses. 

Most of the time, you will find out about any traits from other worlds when you buy your pony, but if you buy a grade pony with an incomplete pedigree, you might not find out until later. If your pony reacts strongly to magic, appears to understand English without training, is unusually attracted to water, attempts to fly, develops a strange marking on its flank, or has any other odd behaviors, you should speak to your local licensed diviner as soon as possible to find out if your pony has any magical ancestry. A pony with some magic in it can be a great joy to own, but it will also need special care and consideration. 

Whether your pony is magical or not, it is sure to be strong, intelligent, and loyal, and I am sure that you and your pony will have many wonderful times together! 


End file.
